Is it practical ?

[Donski]

Hmm been toying with the idea of cycling to work a/ for the excercise and b/ to save on petrol. My journey to work though is nearly 17 miles and quite hilly in places so I am wondering if it is too much of an ask?

I am 50, overweight (see appendix a above) and not too fit, so obviously a normal push bike would not be feasible. I would die I am just wondering if I had a bit of help with an electric bike, I could actually manage it?

Could anyone advise on a rough estimate of time it might take ? Most of the journey is straight roads through countryside but there are a couple of quite significant hills on the way. I live in Reading so I know I would save a bit of time passing all the queues of traffic into town on the way home though. I do have a motorbike but its just as expensive to run as the car. I have made the journey home in 23 minutes on the bike and the longest has been 8 hours in the car when we had a freak snow storm that brought Reading to its knees

Any thoughts appreciated.

Don

 

[Goryl]

Hi,

I do 18.5 miles to go to work and same to go back. 2/3 in London and 1/3 in the countryside. It typically takes 1H10 minutes for me (I systematically stop to any red light ).

I do not have much hills. Two or three that would be quite significant for me but the wisper eat them...

I really like it.

I think that some shop would let you rent one of their bike so you could give it a try .

Goryl

 

[flecc]

Hi Don, I think you must mean 17 miles round trip, since you say you have made the journey home by bike in 23 minutes, which would be an average of over 44 mph if it was one way! Even so, if it is half that distance each way, that average would be a creditable over 22 mph and no legal e-bike would average that.

The most powerful e-bikes usually average around 15 mph or a bit over with a fit cyclist. So if your one way journey is 8.5 miles, a powerful e-bike could take about 34 minutes, if your one way is 17 miles it would take at least 1 hour 8 minutes. A less powerful e-bike could extend those times by a few minutes.

Personally I think anything over 15 miles each way daily all weathers is only practical for a quite fit and fairly keen cyclist, even with an e-bike.

 

[Donski]

No it is 17 miles one way but there is significant traffic on the way home which slows down the journey, even on a VFR 800.

I might try and borrow a bike, even just a normal bike on a pleasant Sunday and just try out a route and see how long it takes. It might indeed be a little bit optimistic

 

[Cakey]

I agree with goryl , about 1 10 , usually after work you are not in the mood for furious pedalling.
My view would be 2 chargers 2 batteries.
As you get fitter you will use less battery or get there quicker .

 

[Jimod]

I've done a 17 mile trip on my e-bike, it took 1hr 7 minutes. It wasn't in the rush hour though and I only went through 1 town. It was an up and down hill trip. So, yes you could do it but would you want to do it everyday? Only you can tell.
On the return trip my battery went flat 2 miles from home but I had been lazy and letting the bike do most of the work on the return. You might want to buy a spare battery or take your charger to work. I cheated, I have a spare.

 

[crotchrocket]

I did 16 miles on Friday which was the 6 miles to work and back through London and a couple of site meetings. My 9ah 36v 8fun kit was just running out, the light was flashing on the indecator as I crested the hill home, so I think it would die before you did 17 miles with some significant hills. I'm about 113 kgs and cycling with mostly one leg though!

 

[Jimod]

I did 16 miles on Friday which was the 6 miles to work and back through London and a couple of site meetings. My 9ah 36v 8fun kit was just running out, the light was flashing on the indecator as I crested the hill home, so I think it would die before you did 17 miles with some significant hills. I'm about 113 kgs and cycling with mostly one leg though!

A 36v 10ah battery will easily do the 17 mile trip, mine almost got me back home so it did over 30 miles. However, if I was going to commute that distance I'd either charge it at work or take a spare. I wouldn't like to run flat on the way home from work.

 

[RegularGuy]

I should think so. I live not a million miles from you and do Farnborough to Woking along the canal, it's 12.5 miles each way but I just use a regular bike, self build hybrid projec starting soon. Takes me about an hour each way, parts of it are quite rough and that really slows you down. I average about 13.5mph on the smoother sections but slow right down on the rough.

Your fitness will build up quickly, my first few months I just started riding to the train station, 2.5 miles and I had to stop for a breather half way! After about 9 months I was itching to go further so tried the whole way. After 3 or 4 months of that I was starting to feel disapointed when I got home and wanted to go further again! 25 miles is a bit far unpowered to do everyday, but I'm hoping with the electric bike that will be fine.

 

[banbury frank]

Hi Donsk


The answer to you Question is YES Please come to Banbury and Find out HOW

We are open 7 days a week for Demos

Frank

 

[Donski]

Thanks everyone. I tried another route to work this morning (in the car) which i thought might be a flatter ride should I try it, but too many obstacles en-route I think. It took much longer in the car for sure.

A couple of things came to mind... I would probably keep a charger at work and at home so the idea is to keep the battery charged. Are the batteries fairly reliable? would I need a spare ?, they seem madly expensive!

Might sound daft but as the bike would have to live outside at work and possibly at home, are they ok getting wet? today it is pouring down out there.

I'm quite taken with the Torano Unicorn so far. It looks like it would cope with a bit of abuse.

thanks again
Don

 

[crotchrocket]

From what i've read on here, they don't like water too much

 

[flecc]

Most e-bikes don't like the wet and suffer failures, but those with sealed crank drives are usually ok with that. Panasonic and similar units are well sealed so not a problem, the Tonaro unit should be ok, though I think you'd need to keep the throttle control protected against long term heavy rain.

With that mileage think in terms of a new battery every two years, only the very best and expensive ones might get to three years. Charging at work as well is a good plan though.

 

[banbury frank]

Hi I a heavy rain down pour is a problem cover the bike with a simple cover it also keeps prying eyes off the bike the battery wont be a problem as you remove it for charging


FULLY WATERPROOF VINYL CYCLE COVER BIKE STORAGE COVER DUST SHEET | eBay

Frank

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi Donski,

If you would like to try out some bikes, these guys will look after you.

Velospeed Electric Bikes
The Old School House
Ambury Road
Aldworth
Berks
RG8 9TJ

01635 579304
Aldworth@wisperbikes.com

All the best

David

 

[overlander]

yes its possible my commute is 20 miles each way and i can do it in 1hr 20-30 mins and i can do it with a 6.4A/hr battery. I do need to put a fair amount of effort in but as time goes on the amount of battery left is getting larger. I am almost at the point where i used to arrive with all lights out and battery on its last gasp to doing the journey two ways and still having a tiny bit of power left. The electric bike has been a wonder machine to me, it has helped me lose weigh got me cycle fit again to such an extent i have started touring again with my daughter and continues to do the boring donkey work of commuting. If your willing to put the work in you WILL lose the weight fast, its sooo tough at the beginning but it does get better. Trust me you will not look back once the weight starts falling off and your fitness increases.

 

[karl101]

From what i've read on here, they don't like water too much

My Wisper 905SEL gets parked out in the rain (when its raining) all day at work, with the battery in place. I've had no problems.

Karl.

 

[gray198]

Frank
thanks for link. Just ordered a couple. At the price can,t go wrong

gray

 

[JuicyBike]

Hi Don
You'll find a great range of bikes at E-Motion in Swindon, including ours, to try and compare.

 

[paulhipwood]

I do a 26 mile commute.
Un assisted I could manage 3 trips per week.
With my converted bike I can easily do 5 days.
I have a 10Ah battery and only half the lights are out after 26 miles.
13 miles now takes me about 50 mins (was 60 unassisted). I also have some hills to contend with.

I would suggest you only do Mon, Wed and Fri to start with, so that you can recover, as you get fitter you will be able to do more.
You also need decent clothing to make the journey as cormfortable as possible.

I am 61 and now intend biking as my main means of commuting.

regards
paul